During a White House listening session with law enforcement, Rockwall County Sheriff Harold Eavenson brought up a state senator who introduced a bill requiring that a suspect be convicted before their assets can be seized, an action he opposed. Efforts to stop the practice of seizing assets before conviction have received bipartisan support in the state.

In case you are unfamiliar with civil asset forfeiture, here’s what it is:

Civil asset forfeiture is a nasty legal loophole that allows government thugs to steal your property without charging you with a crime. They can seize your cash, car, bank accounts, jewelry – and even your home or business without arresting you for doing anything wrong.

Under this racket, the government proceeds directly against your property. An individual doesn’t need to be convicted of a crime, so criminal procedure does not apply. And because the forfeiture is against the property, the owner is a third party claimant in related court proceedings.

It can be VERY expensive and VERY time-consuming to fight to get your property back. Sometimes, the cost of a case is more than the value of the goods stolen, and often people can’t afford to fight back at all. (source)

Federal cops are now officially raking in more “assets” than burglars in this country do.

Listen carefully to what Trump says in this video.

While Eavenson did not provide Trump with any names, The Dallas Morning News reported that two Texas senators have offered legislation this year to require conviction before a person’s assets can be seized (which is a GOOD thing, because as stated above, civil asset forfeiture is a racket and violates Constitutional rights):

Sen. Konni Burton, a Republican who often pushes civil-liberties legislation to protect personal information and property, was a fierce critic of Trump during the campaign. She and Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, a McAllen Democrat, have formed an unlikely team pushing this asset forfeiture legislation.

Hinojosa said he didn’t believe he was the target of Eavenson’s comments. But he said he wasn’t concerned about Trump’s promise to wreak havoc on a senator’s career.

Several other senators have also supported this change in the past, including two civil-libertarian Republicans: Bob Hall, whose district includes Rockwall County, and Don Huffines of Dallas.

Eavenson said he didn’t take Trump’s offer seriously:

“He was just being emphatic that he did not agree with that senator’s position.

“I’m not into assassinating his character,” he added about the unnamed senator.

While I agree that Trump was probably joking about destroying the unnamed senator’s career, something else he said during this conversation is deeply concerning:

Sheriff: “A state senator in Texas was talking about introducing legislation to require conviction before we can receive that forfeiture money.”

Trump: “Can you believe that?”

Can we believe what, Mr. Trump? That some – actually, many – people are against law enforcement officials stealing assets from people who are merely suspected of committing a crime but have not been charged or convicted of any wrongdoing?

If you still don’t fully understand why civil asset forfeiture presents a huge threat to personal property and due process rights, check out the Institute for Justice’s in-depth report on the racket.

In 2016, a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill, which did not become law, that would have required the government to do more to show that seized property was connected to a crime. Critics have said suspects have few avenues to challenge the seizures and that forfeiture laws were sometimes abused. Police in some cases seize property from people who are never charged or convicted.

It’s getting harder and harder by the day to defend Trump when he keeps saying stupid crap like this. Hasn’t he figured out yet that there are cameras and microphones recording his every word and that it’ll all end up on YouTube and social(ist) media? He’s destroying his own presidency after just two weeks in office.

travtw

You voted for him as did many other misinformed people and this what we are gonna be seeing more of. It’s real simple people. He’s a Business man. First and foremost. Money over ethics. Money over morality. Money over the environment. Money over humanity. And here you thought Trump was gonna come in and save the day with all his “tough talk” during the campaign. Let’s face it, you were all duped. Apparently his character and vile that continually spouted from his mouth wasn’t enough to make you people think twice about voting for him. That says a lot about the American people. How clueless most of you really are. A true idiocracy.

All you had to do was listen to this man talk to know what a heartless,soulless, vile human being he really is. Just listen how he humiliates others publicly who don’t agree with his viewpoints. Just listen how he talks about woman, including his OWN daughter. Absolutely disgusting.
Guess that wasn’t enough to steer you all away. Well, reap what you so.
And in the meantime, try and stop getting all your info from Faux news and start thinking for yourselves.

g.johnon

awww travi, you cute little snowflake. you make some interesting points, few of which have any basis in fact. and you do a nice job of portraying the Donald as the boogey man. but what you are completely in the dark about is, what life would be like right now had Hillary won the election. personally, I shudder to think about it.
speaking of duped, have you been running around in the streets of your town shouting out “not my president” at the top of your lungs?
do you actually believe that nancy Pelosi is fit for any kind of public service?
do you really believe that the usa was founded as a democracy?
did you learn all your bullshit in public school?
it is a sad thing that lily dane led off this article with a bald face lie in the first sentence. trump made a joke about destroying the senator’s career without even knowing what senator he was talking about. the comment was unfortunate as it gave your kind fuel to keep whining your ridiculously low info asses off over. it was a short comment, made in jest. but it served your phony ass narrative so well that it was suddenly damning evidence that trump is out to “dupe” us.
we just went through 8 trying years of this country being run by someone with zero business acumen and a fair look at that show may, in what may be a rare moment of enlightenment for you, show you how wrong you are about what a bad thing it is that trump is a businessman.
you should really be paying attention to all the vault 7 stuff that is being dumped down from wikileaks right now. or you could put your head back up your ass, pretend it isn’t so and be ready to accept you bad end when it finally arrives.
nothing good comes from treason, whether you have been tricked into it or not.
and by the way; I am not a trump supporter. I am a hard core Hillary hater. yep, in that particular case I am a hater, and a righteous one.
so, as for me, trump has his hundred days to prove himself one way or another. after that, my opinion of him will be based on his actions, not your fears. if my mind changes about him, so be it. but it is not going to change about Hillary.

Rick E.

Come on, how could ANYONE that’s for justice back stealing from we subjects of this police state??! Civil asset forfeiture IS quasi-legal theft! There’s no way to dispute this, as the PROPERTY is held responsible and liable for a made up crime, thus “justifying” seizure of said property without proof whatsoever! One must prove that said property is innocent with NO presumption of innocence!
This IS criminal in intent and scope!

The Deplorable Tina

I watched the whole thing (it was on before the press briefing), Trump admitted that he didn’t know what civil asset forfeiture was all about & asked one of his guys if they knew about it. Then he went along with the people in the room & was joking around.

Dollars to donuts he will be fully briefed by now & know what is the right thing to do.

Amazing how different things can be taken from actually watching him in action vs hearing other people’s take on it. I am rooting for him, but agree that he does seem to be shooting himself in the foot sometimes. Then again, it has only been three weeks and he’s acclimating to the toxic DC climate. He will learn!

Smarty

It’s really disturbing that our President, who talks so much about preserving the 2A, limiting big/gov, fighting for the restoration of American freedom somehow doesn’t know about CAF ? If this is true, it’s more scary than CAF itself….

g.johnon

thanks for adding some proper perspective tina.

Tatiana Covington

Laws are whatever people say they are. Some people.

Bruce Regael

They’re also whatever the people enforcing them think they are. Any law, no matter how well intended, can be turned around and used nefariously. The answer would be less government, obviously, but we’re along way from that if ever in our life time from the libertarian dream.

Law enforcement is broken because we as a society and culture are completely broken both morally and ethically. That’s harder to fix than government as it takes multiple generations to change it. It’s also is what forces government to change or face extinction.

You can begin by fixing the damn border and deporting every single illegal and just closing immigration entirely for a couple decades until we can sort out our massive problem already that likely can trigger a civil war. So long as our culture continues to get overrun at its current rate changing the government wont matter.

Tatiana Covington

Nor have I said that the existing borders should remain just where they are… understand?

“While I agree that Trump was probably joking about destroying the unnamed senator’s career…”

Really? Trump never jokes about anything. He never even laughs. He’s a totally humorless individual who says ridiculous things on a daily basis and I believe he meant what he said.

chris

His pick of Sessions goes a long way in proving you are right. The guy is known far and wide for his support of civil forfeiture.
Trump is pro Patriot act, giving police military surplus to be used against the people, stop and frisk, eminent domain. All go directly against the founding principles of this country and the Constitution in some cases.
Trump is pro police state without a doubt, yet the Trumpsters will make excuses no matter what . As freedom is going, going, about gone.

jimmy joe

Chris, you are absolutely correct. The same people that defend his every move, ARE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT DEFENDED OBAMA AND HIS EVERY MOVE, SAME FUCKING SHEEP,, other side of the coin!!!

g.johnon

yeah, there are actual trump supporters out there. but they are def not the same sheep as those who defended barry. most of us though, would just like everyone, including you, to sit down and shut up for 100 days, and then begin the discussion of trump. we had 8 years to get soetero down pat, what would be wrong with taking a little over three months to get to know this potus?

g.johnon

the only “excuse” that I and others of the same mindset would ever make is no excuse at all, but a slam dunk fact. trump is not Hillary.

PJ London

Simple solution,
Police raid an apartment in Trump Towers, find (buy) a (conveniently placed) amount of Cocaine and seize all the property of the Trump organisation in Civil Forfeiture.
Then maybe the law will be changed.
” One day this past March, without warning, the government took his house away, even though he and his wife, Markella, have never been charged with a crime or accused of any wrongdoing.
..
The nightmare began when police showed up at the house and arrested their 22-year-old son, Yianni, on drug charges — $40 worth of heroin. Authorities say he was selling drugs out of the home. The Sourvelises say they had no knowledge of any involvement their son might have had with drugs.
A month-and-a-half later police came back — this time to seize their house, forcing the Sourvelises and their children out on the street that day.”

oh hell yes, lets all just play dirty, it is, after all, what the times dictate; right?
who needs any kind of moral counterbalance to corruption?? oh right, we do.

PJ London

Oh God,
/sarc on
/sarc off

Guido Sartucci

Come on Donald,this is wrong!

g.johnon

father quido, the first sentence of this article is wrong, don’t get hung up on it.

Fox

As much as I oppose asset forfeiture without conviction, as long as it is in place, why not use it to seize the assets of Soros, the Clintons, and treasonous celebrities?

THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH YOU DON’ FA

Unfortunately because those useful idiots serve their khazarian masters quite well thus, well protected and will NEVER face repercussions for ANY of their actions from the “authorities”.

jimmy joe

Not so much, as I believe it is because they have the money to fight it in court, and that might set a precedent.

g.johnon

yes indeed. the revolution will definitely not be fought in a courtroom. that would be suicide.

g.johnon

that all needs to change; don’t ya think?

THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH YOU DON’ FA

ABSOLUTELY

Renee Ciccioni

Just like Obama was a diversion for the liberal desire to end war and corruption, Trump is the diversion for the Conservatives that desired the same thing he is a establishment cronie as well.

Guillotine_ready

In my opinion Trump is a big picture guy. He is unaware of some of the things we are concerned with but he is and will keep learning. He jokes around and does not expect people to be thin skinned and whiny when he does so. Maybe this is a bad thing in a country full of whiny, needy state raised little never do for yourselves, who knows.
I have backed exactly zero leaders in my life since I tend not to be a follower. But I am consistently entertained by how upset people get about Trump, it is a laugh fest for me.

jimmy joe

He expects other people NOT to be thin skinned, yet, all the while, HE IS THIN SKINNED!! He constant attack on people that say anything negative about him says it all, partner!

Ziggy Kelleher

NOT FOR GENTILES, CONSPIRACY NUTS OR TRUMP JEWS. RATED Z .

THIS IS ON ZIONISTS WHO HAVE NOT PERFECTED THE HASBARA DECEPTION.

jimmy joe

So the senator might have to sacrifice his job for the CONSTITUTION, eh? Good, he is doing the job he was paid to do then! We all already know trump ain’t going to sacrifice anything, besides, where are all the trump sheeple defending his choice to shit all over the CONSTITUTION?? Where are they?? Watch them turn themselves into pretzels defending everything he does, even when they were bitching when obama did the same things!!

jimmy joe

He also just admitted that “sheriffs” and all other nazi’s, for that matter, ARE ABOVE THE LAW, much like we the people already knew, because, for them to go after someone, just for standing up for the CONSTITUTION, would be illegal, if, and thats a big if, they were subject to the same laws the rest of us are forced to follow, under threat of death or kidnapping!!

thomas jefferson

I known people who had their houses auctioned off without them even knowing about,,,I went to colorado springs to buy a new computer,The sheriffs pulled me over ,made up some bullshit story and took $900 dollars off me,when I went to the sheriffs office and complained,THE SHERIFF HIM SELF told me they were broke because county wasn’t giving them enough money,SO THEY WERE JUST ROBBING ALL THE OLD PEOPLE because they knew they had money…this isn’t asets from crime,THE POLICE GANGS ARE THE CRIMINALS,and its going to get a LOT worse….

g.johnon

god! what is disturbing here lily is you acting just like a fucking snowflake.
you are telling lies. your video shows trump making a joke about ruining a senator’s career. he does not even know what senator he is joking about.
stop making up shit and stick to the facts. if this country is going to blow apart, at least let us do it honestly.
on the other hand, that worthless fucking sheriff needs to be takin out, shot in the face and thrown into a wood chipper.

THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH YOU DON’ FA

Keep building the swamp Trump, you will also drown in it. Even your khazarian masters won’t be able to protect you.

THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH YOU DON’ FA

Trump is nothing but controlled opposition for the khazarian mafia. They know the people are fed the hell up with the tyrannical establishment and knew he could run his mouth and the people would buy the bullshit spewing from his piehole. Now that he “won” the (s)election, he has free reign to do as he pleases. IF Ohomo got awa with teh crap that he did, Trump surely can as well. People have become too complacent and dumbed down to do a damn thing about it as long as the NFl, Dancing with the Stars, and American Idol is on the idiot tube.

daveinga

lived in central fla. 7 years ( 90’s) and they had the county on I-95 around Daytona that oft hit the news grabbing folks $$, as they (usually) traveled south. one couple I remember was taking some $$ they had legally earned to pay for a piece of property (house). not really unusual for some people to pay out of pocket for all sorts of things. remember, cities (gov entities) usually have lawyers on staff and citizens can be taken advantage of by gov ees. a lot of this $$ goes directly or indirectly into gov ees pockets, as in extra overtime for cops and such. the possibilities are as many as there are crooked lawyers.
to me, this $$ grabbing technique being used against innocent (until proven guilty) citizens (and immigrants) by local gov entities, goes against everything our country is supposed to be about. I think these l.e. people have picked up something on the bottom of their shoes on this one. ‘ooow that smell’.